Glock ticks right boxes as spluttering Toyota raise the stakes

Timo Glock will start out on an impressively well-worn path when he takes the wheel in a Toyota formula one car in 2008, joining illustrious company as the third GP2 champion to step up into the sport's senior category.

Glock was yesterday confirmed as Jarno Trulli's Toyota team-mate for 2008 and is intent on emulating the impressive formula one debut seasons of his fellow former GP2 champions Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, though nobody expects the 2007 title holder to enjoy a magic carpet ride on his return to the top tier.

Following Hamilton into the raw cut-and-thrust of GP2 was always going to be an intimidating prospect for Glock, yet the German's success prompted Toyota to choose him as replacement for his compatriot Ralf Schumacher, who had been with the team for three seasons.

"What Lewis did last year was definitely quite special but he had the package to do it, the car was in the right moment and the team was there to do a great job and he did a great job," Glock said. "I know that he is quick, I fought with him in GP2. But for me it will be difficult to do what he did. We have to be realistic and it's definitely not a possibility for me to fight for the championship this year."

The 25-year-old added: "It would be nice if we could again have a race like we did in Turkey in 2006 [in GP2]. When we can do that maybe we will have a chance to fight for the championship as well, because then the car will be good enough to fight with Lewis and McLaren."

Yet at the launch of the new Toyota TF108, staged in the team's racing headquarters on the outskirts of Cologne, Glock and Trulli were put starkly on notice by Tadashi Yamashina, the team principal, that they will be expected to work harder than ever in the quest for results. "Of course, our ultimate target is the middle step of the podium," he said.

"We are in formula one to win and we want to do that soon. Our clear target in 2008 is to make a big improvement in our results because we were not satisfied with our performance last year. Our drivers should be aiming to finish in the points regularly and challenging for the podium. As a team we must do our bit to give the drivers a car which is capable of achieving our goals. The engineers and designers have pushed hard to develop the best possible car for the drivers and the work will not stop."

Glock has a wealth of varied experience since taking his first steps into motor sport as a 15-year-old kart racer. After two years of kart racing he stepped up to single-seaters and rose through the ranks to formula one via success in formula BMW ADAC and formula three.

At just 22 he was a formula one competitor with an unexpected Jordan debut in Canada in 2004, where he joined an exclusive list of drivers to score points in their first race thanks to his seventh place. Three more races followed at the end of the season before he moved for 2005 to the United States, where he was named Champ Car rookie of the year, his best finish being second, also in Montreal.

"Even though I have not raced in formula one since 2004, I have tested quite regularly so I expect it will take little time for me to get back in the groove," he said. "I want to have the most successful season possible. I aim to be consistent and to help the team move upwards. My first goal will be to regularly challenge for points and I believe we will be able to do that.

"There is always pressure to succeed as a racing driver. When I moved to Champ Cars and GP2 there was pressure to prove I deserved another chance in formula one. As a racing driver you accept this kind of pressure and it doesn't affect you."

Last week the Toyota team were put on notice that they had two more years to achieve substantive formula one success, the implication being that their continued participation beyond that time depends on achieving much better results. Certainly they have to do better than in 2007 when they mustered sixth place in the constructors' championship.

Trulli expressed frustration at Toyota's form in recent years and vowed to lead a revival in his fourth season with the team. The 33-year-old Italian said: "This team has more potential than the results we had in 2007. I honestly believe we belong much higher up, and I am fired up to help improve the team."